19th October, 2012
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has described as an illusion and self deceit the current efforts being made by the Nigerian government to become one of world’s leading economies by the year 2020, saying indices showed that the government is only making efforts through statements and no much work.
Speaking through its representative in Nigeria, Dr. Patrick Kormawa, during the 45th Annual Report and Accounts of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ikeja Branch, the UN agency whose responsibility is to promote industrial development for poverty reduction and ensure globalization and environmental sustainability, said it was highly disappointed in Nigeria because those in government have continued to work in confusion.
Dr. Kormawa also said it was shameful that while the country cannot provide adequate room for the growth of domestic investors, its government officials are chasing shadows by travelling round the country in search of direct foreign investors.
“We at UNIDO are disappointed because this is a country that goes two steps forward and three steps backwards and this will not help our productivity.
“The country changes policies like it changes ministers and government and you cannot run things like that,” he said, adding that investors want to see consistency of policies and their implementation.
He explained that for any country to win the interest of investors, it must first create a solid business atmosphere for its domestic investors unlike what currently obtains in Nigeria with its tough bureaucracy and lack of government presence in the in the manufacturing sector.
Dr. Kormawa lamented that as a result of the harsh business climate in Nigeria, citizens now go to other countries like China to invest, bring back Chinese products for boys to go into the streets to sell.
He said this was a disservice the country and its government had brought upon themselves.
Comparing Nigeria with Tunisia in terms of business environment and global competitiveness, he said investors would prefer the latter because the government in that country had consistently strengthened the environment.
He lamented that Nigerian leaders have been travelling to other countries including Brazil, which it started the race for development with, yet had not learnt enough to transform the country.
He said though Nigeria is one of the fastest growing economies as a result of government’s effort, this had not reflected in the country’s unemployment challenges and poverty rate.
According to him, while other countries are looking for new ways to boost development and ensure they bring in more investors, Nigerian leaders are busy exporting its inherited wealth and wasting the funds without priorities.
“It is disheartening that the country with abundant wealth of natural resources, which I refer to as inherited wealth has failed to transform that wealth into productive wealth.
“Instead, it has continued to ship wealth across the Atlantic Ocean creating jobs and wealth elsewhere, and perpetuating poverty and joblessness for its growing population. It is bad business that must be reversed,” he said.
He also said Nigerians still carry money in Ghana-must-go bags while other countries have gone far in monetary policies, adding “Nigeria is very far from growth. I don’t know when we would get to the innovation-driven economy, but I know that one day, we would get there.”
Kormawa criticised the country’s interest rate which he put at about 20 per cent in comparison with some countries with just three per cent interest rate and wondered how the government expected businesses to thrive.
He also said that his organisation had a lot of documents to support Nigeria’s leap into one of the best economies in the world but that the government was yet to explore such assistance.
According to him, the Nigerian government must go back to the basics, know exactly what it wants and the best way to meet the goals.
—EROMOSELE EBHOMELE